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Horváth István: A tata-tóvárosi angolkert forrásai – kísérlet Budapest vízellátására
A tata-tóvárosi angolkert forrásai... 91 Epilógus A tata-tóvárosi források budapesti felhasználásának ötlete csak egy rövid kitérőt jelentett a fővárosi vízellátás történetében, gyorsan feledésbe is merült. A Vasárnapi Újság újságírója 1893-ban, a káposztásmegyeri vízmű építésének kezdetén már nem is tudta pontosan a tervet ismertetni, a terv alapját képező angolkerti forrásokról említést sem tett: „Fölmerült az a terv is, hogy a tatai nagy tó vizét vezessék be Budapestre. Ennek az eszmének a tanulmányozása is elrabolt egy csomó időt. Végre is elejtették, mert a tatai víz meleg és mésztartalmánál fogva könnyen eldugaszolta volna a csöveket.”30 Springs in the English garden of Tata-Tóvároskert - an attempt to supply Budapest with water István Horváth In the period of the Dual Monarchy, the population of Budapest was growing at an exceptional pace. To meet the demand of the citizens, the construction of the capital’s public utilities started. Among others, the predecessor of the Waterworks of Budapest was established, with the aim to provide the population with good-quality drinking water. However, as the temporary waterworks that started to operate in 1868 could not meet the ever-growing demand, the city management had to find a longterm solution for the pressing problems of water supply. Taking into account the geographical location of Budapest, waterworks on the Danube’s water seemed to be a most convenient solution, albeit numerous experts expressed their doubts regarding the quantity and quality of the water obtainable from the Danube. The professional debates took years. In that period—in the 1880s—Miklós Esterházy, owner of the Tata estate and the architect Adolf Feszty submitted a proposal about the possibility of channelling the water of the springs in the English Garden in Tata-Tóváros to Budapest. According to designers’ calculations, the abundant springs of Tata-Tóváros could have met Budapest’s demand for drinking water for centuries. The water would have been channelled to Budapest in an 80-kilometer-long pipe; water would have got from Tata to Budapest in about 30 hours. The proposal attracted considerable interest; at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, several experts presented their opinion about water from Tata-Tóváros. As evidenced by contemporary analyses, the water was extraordinarily clean yet due to its mineral content and relatively high temperature there were some concerns that it cannot be used for the purposes of water supply for Budapest. The study makes an attempt to give a short summary of the water supply of Budapest and its specific problems in the 1880s, and—relying on contemporary written resources—analyses the possibility of using the water of the springs in Tata for supplying Budapest. It article follows up the history of the proposal and related experts’ debates, and highlights the reasons for the rejection of this promising proposal. 30 Vasárnapi Újság 1893. augusztus 13., 552.
